Devanagari
योऽसौ गुणक्षोभकृतो विकार:
प्रधानमूलान्महत: प्रसूत: ।
अहं त्रिवृन्मोहविकल्पहेतु-
र्वैकारिकस्तामस ऐन्द्रियश्च ॥ ३३ ॥
Verse text
yo ’sau guṇa-kṣobha-kṛto vikāraḥ
pradhāna-mūlān mahataḥ prasūtaḥ
ahaṁ tri-vṛn moha-vikalpa-hetur
vaikārikas tāmasa aindriyaś ca
Synonyms
yaḥ asau
—
this
;
guṇa
—
of the modes of nature
;
kṣobha
—
by the agitation
;
kṛtaḥ
—
caused
;
vikāraḥ
—
transformation
;
pradhāna
—
mūlāt — which is generated from the pradhāna, the unmanifest form of the total material nature
;
mahataḥ
—
from the mahat-tattva
;
prasūtaḥ
—
generated
;
aham
—
false ego
;
tri
—
vṛt — in three phases
;
moha
—
of bewilderment
;
vikalpa
—
and material variety
;
hetuḥ
—
the cause
;
vaikārikaḥ
—
in the mode of goodness
;
tāmasaḥ
—
in the mode of ignorance
;
aindriyaḥ
—
in the mode of passion
;
ca
—
and .
Translation
When the three modes of nature are agitated, the resultant transformation appears as the element false ego in three phases — goodness, passion and ignorance. Generated from the mahat-tattva, which is itself produced from the unmanifest pradhāna, this false ego becomes the cause of all material illusion and duality.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Ahaṅkāra, which arises from mahat-tattva, arising from agitation of prakṛti, has three forms: sattva, tamas and rajas. These cause a variety of opinions caused by ignorance.
“Is this material world true of false? This should be asked because it is difficult to determine from the great variety of opinions.” This is explained with examples in two verses. Ahaṅkāra, an effect of the agitation of the guṇas, arises from mahat-tattva which arises from prakṛti. This takes three forms: vaikārika or adhidaiva (sattva): tāmasa or adhibhūta (tamas); and aindriya or adhyātma (rajas). This is a cause of differences views arising from ignorance.
Purport
By giving up one’s false ego of identification with the three modes of nature, one can achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the pure, original state of existence. The word
moha-vikalpa-hetuḥ
indicates that because of false ego one considers himself to be the enjoyer of nature and thus develops a false sense of material duality in terms of material happiness and distress. False ego is removed by identifying oneself as the Lord’s eternal servitor in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.